By MALLORY GRUBEN
Teamsters Local 305 asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Oct. 4 for a union election to represent 42 workers at Ridwell, a company that provides curbside collection of hard to recycle items like batteries, plastic clamshell containers, lightbulbs, and more. The NLRB hasn’t set an election date.
This is the second group of Ridwell employees who have decided to unionize. Last year, a group of about 50 Ridwell workers in Seattle and Fife, Washington, voted to join Teamsters Local 117, and they signed a first contract in July 2023 that provides substantial wage increases, more paid time off, more paid holidays, and employee stock options. Ridwell remained neutral in the union campaign.
“We are fundamentally aligned with organized labor, and if the Portland team chooses to unionize, just as we did in Seattle, we will look forward to working with the Teamsters local down there,” said Ridwell spokesperson Caleb Weaver.
Ridwell is headquartered in Seattle and also operates in California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas.
